Morgan anthrax hearing rescheduled

December 23, 2001|By Peter Comings

It was information pertaining to statements attributed to the defendant, statements Mr. Morgan is alleged to have said, reported Otsego County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Rola. Rola said the information came from Gaylord Post Office customer service supervisor Monica Payton who testified Thursday afternoon she had spoken to the defendant at length on the phone one week after his mother received the mail. The specific nature of the evidence was not revealed.

The alleged incident took place Nov. 1 when Muriel Morgan, while sitting in her car in the parking lot of the Gaylord Post Office, opened a letter from the Capital One credit card company, postmarked Richmond, Va. She claimed that a fine, white powder was expelled from the envelope. Tests done by the FBI confirmed later the envelope contained no substances of any kind.

Authorities maintain the alleged hoax was apparently part of a scheme in which the Morgans had hoped to obtain an inoculation of Ci-pro, an antibiotic used to treat those exposed to anthrax. The incident report alleges Brian Morgan sent a letter to Dr. Andrezej Chebes dated Oct. 9, outlining the symptoms of anthrax. Chebes allegedly told police he received a letter from Morgan outlining anthrax symptoms and making clear Morgans belief if antibiotics were not administered within 36 hours of exposure the victim would die.

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The two were formally charged Nov. 8 with the four-year felony of falsely reporting the use of a harmful substance. Payton said in court during their phone conversation Morgan made re-peated requests for such things as having his mail held for 90 days, having his mail selectively sorted and at one point suggested he would pick up his mail wearing a biohazard suit.

Elliot Blumberg, defense attorney for the 71-year-old mother and her 44-year-old son maintained no criminal acts took place since Muriel Morgan followed the instructions given to her at the post office when she shared what allegedly had taken place.

There was a plea agreement offered prior to todays preliminary examination, said Rola. Mr. Blumberg is discussing the plea agreement with his client in light of this new information.